Wash. state has most unfair tax structure in nation, report finds | KOMO

Wash. state has most unfair tax structure in nation, report finds | KOMO

WASHINGTON – A new report has found that Washington state has the most regressive tax structure in the nation – with the poorest residents here paying nearly six times as much of their income in taxes as the wealthy.

“Washington has the most unfair state and local tax system in the country,” says the report released this week by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. “Incomes are more unequal in Washington after state and local taxes are collected than before.”

The study, entitled “Who Pays?”, found that Washington’s lowest earners pay 17.8 percent of their income in state and local taxes, compared with 3 percent for the highest earners.